Light Up the Sky
by dee768nj
Summary: Babe story. Another one of my three-part shorts. Steph is trying to find a skip at the Burg Fall Festival and invites Ranger to go along with her. Kind of sappy.
1. Chapter 1

Light Up The Sky

_Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money. Not Morelli friendly. Written in response to a challenge._

1

"So Ranger, how'd you like to go to the Fall Festival with me today?" Stephanie asked, looking beguilingly up at me through her lashes. Her eyes are the most amazing shade of blue.

"Babe."

I'm not really a Fall Festival kind of guy. The Fall Festival was a Burg tradition, with a carnival and craft fair taking place all day, topped off by a big fireworks display. For some indiscernible reason, Fall Festival was even more important than Fourth of July in the Burg. All the Burgers would be there, including Stephanie's on-again off-again cop boyfriend.

"I heard through the Burgvine that Cy Cider was going to be there, and I was hoping you'd maybe back me up," she said.

"Babe," I said again.

"I know Burg events aren't your cup of tea. They're not really mine, either, but since I might have to do a takedown in a crowd I thought, what better backup could I have than you?"

"Babe," and then I sighed. She knew she had me. She knew I wouldn't possibly let her go after Cider alone.

Stephanie had been looking for Cy Cider for over a week and hadn't had any luck. I sure hoped her intel was good, because I wanted to get him off her plate.

Cider was dangerous, into guns, drugs and prostitution, as well as fancying himself some kind of militiaman, dressing in fatigues and carrying an assortment of weapons. Stephanie should never have been given the file to begin with. But he'd managed to thus far evade serious charges and was only arrested for simple assault, ergo a low bond. I tried to take the file from her, but she knew it was well below RangeMan's contract amount, and she can be stubborn.

Oh, well, at least she came to me for backup.

So that's why we spent the afternoon and evening walking around the carnival, wandering among the crafters' tables early, and then checking out the rides and games of chance. Stephanie chatted, and I nodded and bought her lots of carnival food—funnel cakes, Italian sausage sandwiches, water ice from South Philly. I might even have had a good time if we'd been there just for relaxation, holding hands and going on rides together.

"Let's go on the Ferris wheel," Stephanie spoke up suddenly, as if she were reading my mind.

"Babe."

"We'll get a really good view of the whole festival," she told me. "We might be able to spot Cider from higher up."

Actually a good idea. Although it was dark, the area was well lit and we might be able to pick him out of the crowd. I got two tickets and we waited in line side by side, shoulders touching.

Unfortunately, while we were standing there, who should come along but the cop, Joe Morelli.

"What the hell's going on here, Cupcake?" He grabbed her arm and yanked her out of line, dragging her by the wrist. I followed, a little concerned about Morelli's aggressiveness.

"Joe, let go. You're hurting me." Stephanie was trying to pull away from his tight grip, but he wasn't having any of it. "Joe," she said again, and I could see the gleam of tears starting.

"Morelli," I growled.

"This is none of your business, Manoso," he hissed, but at least he let go of Stephanie's arm. The skin was an angry red where he'd gripped her, and I could see that there was going to be a bruise.

"Stephanie's well-being is my business," I told him.

He turned his back on me, getting right in Stephanie's face. "Goddam it, Cupcake, what the hell are you doing here with him?" His face was dark, a vein throbbing in his forehead, and his arms started to flap around.

"Joe, we broke up, remember?" Stephanie was trying to be reasonable. "Pretending to be on assignment? Skank in a cheap motel? Any of this sounding familiar to you?"

"Cupcake, I told you I was undercover. It was part of the job. It didn't mean anything."

"No, Joe, cheating always means something. We're through, for good. Stay away from me."

Stephanie turned to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me back toward the Ferris wheel. I kept an eye on Morelli, but he turned and stomped away.

"Babe, are you all right?" I asked. I'd known about Morelli's extracurricular activities but had hoped Stephanie would never find out. I knew that her dick of an ex-husband had cheated on her, and much as I wanted her relationship with Morelli to end, I didn't want to see her hurt that way again.

"I'm fine," she said, but I could see she wasn't. I slipped an arm around her and pulled her up against my side, dropping a kiss on her wild brown curls. I didn't know what I could say to make things better, so I didn't say anything, just held her close to me, trying to tell her with my actions what I couldn't say with words. I lifted her hand up to my face and kissed her bruised wrist.

"Do you want me to kill him?" I asked her, only half-kidding.

That brought a little smile to her face. "Not today, thanks. But I'll let you know if my opinion changes in the future."

_TBC_


	2. Chapter 2

Light Up The Sky

2

We got back in the Ferris wheel line with our tickets and in a few minutes were rocking in a safety-barred seat. We went up one notch at a time to the very top as they reloaded each of the seats after ours, and we both looked around, trying to spot Cider.

As the loading finished, we started circling rapidly, and it became hard to focus on people on the ground, so my attention turned to Stephanie. I could see by her expressive face that she was upset by the encounter with Morelli, and I wished I had the words to make it better. But instead of saying anything, I slipped my arm across the seat back and curved it around her shoulders.

She leaned into me and sighed deeply. "Thanks for taking care of me, Ranger. I'm glad you were here. That could have gotten really ugly."

"You're welcome, Babe."

We rode in silence for several minutes, and then she sighed again. "And thanks for not yelling at me when I mess up. I know I'm a screw-up, a disaster, a disappointment to my family, to Joe. They think I should give up my job and become a Stepford wife, cooking perfect dinners every night and keeping my windows sparkling, popping out babies, going to church. But I couldn't live like that. I think I'd die, just wither away in that kind of life."

"You're not a screw-up, Babe, or a disaster. You're amazing."

She snorted. "Sure, amazing. What have you been smoking?"

I pulled her around to face me and looked into her eyes, trying to will away the pain I saw there. And then I couldn't help myself. I kissed her, gently at first, and then harder, trying to put all my feelings for her into the kiss. After a surprised second, she returned the kiss, sliding her hands up the back of my neck into my hair.

As the wheel slowed to begin unloading and reloading riders, we broke apart, eyes locked. I tried to show her with my eyes some of what I was feeling, but I'm afraid I've worn the blank mask for so long that I can't express emotions anymore. But maybe she saw something, because her face softened and she smiled at me. She has the most beautiful smile.

In sync, we both turned and again started scanning the crowd for Cider. And just before we got to the bottom, Stephanie clutched my arm, pointing. "There. Going into the fun house."

We hurried down the ramp from the Ferris wheel and headed for the fun house. "We can wait by the exit for him to come out," she told me. "It should be an easy capture because he won't be expecting anything there."

"Okay, Babe, it's your show." I hoped the takedown would be as easy as she expected, but where Stephanie is concerned, nothing ever seems to go as planned.

We stood on each side of the fun house exit door in the darkness behind the building. While we waited, the fireworks started, and we both looked up at the sky at the sound of the first explosions.

Suddenly there were more explosions than the fireworks, and I flung myself at Stephanie, pushing her around the corner of the building and covering her with my body. Someone was shooting at us. A minute ago this was the safest spot in the world, but it was fast turning into a bad day in Bosnia.

I twisted my head around and caught a glimpse of Cider. He must have come back out the front. How the hell did he know we were here?

He was holding an H&K VP70 machine pistol set to fire three-shot bursts. We were huddled against the side of the building, and he couldn't get a good angle on us, so he turned and fled.

Stephanie pulled away from me and took off after him.

"Babe, don't," I began, but she was gone. Fuck.

I ran after her, trying to catch her and stop her from getting shot. It was a nightmare, knowing that he could turn at any second and take away the most important person in my life, my best friend, mi amor…

Stephanie was really moving, but I was catching up to her. Cider, running about fifty feet ahead, suddenly turned and brought the pistol around. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

But Stephanie saw him and hit the ground. Thank God. I was pretty close and I kept going, intending to throw myself on top of her, when Cider lowered the gun.

Suddenly everything was happening in slow motion. In one continuous movement he pulled a fragmentation grenade out of a side pocket, yanked the pin, and lobbed it right at Stephanie. It hit the ground and rolled to a stop about six feet from her.

The second I saw him pull the pin I was counting in my head… One Mississippi, two Mississippi… I knew the effective kill zone of that type of grenade was five meters, and I knew Stephanie was within that kill zone.

I flung myself over and past her body, reached out and snagged the grenade, and, just as I reached 'three Mississippi' flung it back toward Cider. Without looking, I twisted and covered Stephanie's body with my own at the exact moment the grenade detonated in mid-air.

_TBC_


	3. Chapter 3

Light Up The Sky

_I flung myself over and past her body, reached out and snagged the grenade, and, just as I reached 'three Mississippi' flung it back toward Cider. Without looking, I twisted and covered Stephanie's body with my own at the exact moment the grenade detonated in mid-air._

3

I felt shrapnel hit my back and flinched but I knew I wasn't seriously injured. I turned to look, and although Cider was down I was pretty sure he was still breathing. The explosive must have been closer to him than to us when it went off.

"Ranger, are you all right?" Stephanie's voice was shaky and she twisted underneath me until she was on her back, looking into my eyes. "Oh, God, Ranger, I'm so sorry." Her eyes filled with tears, glittering multi-colored reflections of the fireworks in the sky overhead._  
_

"I'm fine, Babe," and I pressed the full length of my body against hers and kissed her hard. Thank God, I was so afraid I was going to lose her.

I slid my arms tightly around her and used a thigh to spread her legs so I could rest between them. My cock was rapidly saluting the flag, and I pressed it hard against her center. I tilted my head a little and used my lips to part hers, thrusting my tongue deeply into her mouth. I couldn't get enough. I was totally out of control.

Finally the sounds of people around us brought me back, and I lifted my head. The grenade exploding had drawn a crowd, and through the thunder of the continuing fireworks I could hear sirens approaching.

I pressed my forehead against hers. "Babe, don't ever do that again. I think I would die if I lost you."

"Ranger," she started, and then trailed off. For once she was speechless, but I could see something in her eyes._  
_

I was still lying on top of her, my forearms holding my weight, my hands twisted in her hair, when Morelli arrived. He immediately started in.

"Goddam it, Cupcake, not again. And for Christ's sake, are you fucking that bastard right here in front of everyone? What the hell is wrong with you? You are such a fuckup."

"Don't listen to him, Babe," I whispered into Stephanie's ear, sliding my body mostly off her, but still keeping my hands in her hair and my face right next to hers, mouth at her ear. She turned a little toward me and pressed her cheek against mine.

Morelli didn't stop berating her, so I kept whispering, hoping to drown out the flood of criticism. "We made the capture, and I'll call the guys to take Cider in, or accompany him to the hospital. And I don't think you'll have to worry about him getting out on bail again, not after all that."

"Ranger, do you need to go to the hospital?" she whispered back. "I know you got hit. I could feel it."

"No, Babe, it's minor. I'll be fine. Bobby will take a look at me when we get back to Rangeman."

Her cell phone rang then, and she pulled it from her pocket and answered it without looking, probably confused by all the chaos going on around her, the flashing and thumping of the fireworks, Morelli still shouting and waving his arms.

"This is your mother speaking. Stephanie Plum, what do you think you're doing, ruining the fireworks for everyone?" I could plainly hear her mother's voice shouting at her. Crap, I'd forgotten, this is the Burg. Her mom had probably already had six phone calls in the five minutes since the explosion.

I saw Stephanie flinch, and I took the phone from her, speaking into it and stopping her mother in mid-screech. "Mrs. Plum, this is Ranger Manoso. Stephanie is fine, but she can't talk right now and will be busy for the rest of the night. She'll call you back tomorrow." I snapped the phone shut and turned it off. There, take that, you bitch.

It took over an hour to deal with the police and convince the paramedics that neither Stephanie nor I needed to be taken to the hospital. Finally we were on our way back to RangeMan, Stephanie driving the Cayenne and me sitting sideways in the passenger seat so as not to hurt my back.

"Ranger, I'm so sorry," she began again. "I was a total idiot to chase Cider knowing that he was armed. I don't think, I just act, and I put you in serious danger. I don't know if I can forgive myself for that."

"Babe, stop that right now." I was angry and my voice was rough. "To begin with, I've been in far more dangerous situations than that. That was just a little walk in the park."

She opened her mouth to protest, but I held up a hand to stop her. "And furthermore, you are not an idiot, nor are you any of those things Morelli and your mother called you. You're amazing."

I took a deep breath, and then barged on. Fools rush in, and all that. "I'm sick and tired of your family and so-called friends belittling the woman I love, trying to keep you from flying. I'm going to put a stop to it, right now. As of this moment nobody says those things to you anymore, ever. Or they have to deal with me."

Luckily we'd pulled into the RangeMan garage by that point, because as soon as she put the car in park she turned to me with huge eyes. "The woman you love?"

"Yeah, Babe, I thought you knew. I've told you before. I'm totally and completely in love with you. Have been for years." There, I said it.

"In your own way," she qualified.

"In every possible way. Now let's get upstairs and get Bobby to take care of my back so I can spend the rest of the night showing you how much I love you."

Her mouth was open and she stared at me. She didn't move until I gently pushed her mouth closed.

"Okay, Babe?"

"O… okay."

Okay.

_The End_

_Based on the song "Light Up the Sky" by Yellowcard_


End file.
